Page 28 of Lakehouse Mistletoe
Helen cringed. “Why aren’t you going?”
Kacey smiled. “Because I’ve already been last year—and it was fabulous. Besides, my husband is working the night shift. They’ve got three cops out with the flu, and he’s having to cover for them.” She sighed heavily. “And, to tell you the truth, I want to sit in the living room with the fireplace on and admire the Christmas tree with a cup of hot tea.”
Helen rolled her eyes. “Fine. I’ll go. But it’s only four. It’s not going to take me three hours to get ready.”
The back door flew open, and Rebecca burst in with a large bag. “I’m here. And I brought makeup, curling iron, flat iron. Everything you need for a makeover.”
Helen eased up from her seat. “Makeover?” She glared at Kacey. “You didn’t say anything about a makeover.”
Kacey cringed at Helen’s glare. “We thought it was time for you to have a new look as you enter this new period in your life.”
In the end, the girls won. By the time Rebecca was finished curling Helen’s shoulder length brown hair, Kacey had finished applying her makeup.
They made her slip into her cocktail dress in the walk-in closet so she couldn’t see herself until she came out.
“Come on out, Helen,” Rebecca called from the other side of the door.
Helen sighed heavily and opened the door.
Both women gasped when they saw her.
“What? What is it?” Helen rushed past them to the floor length mirror in the room.
She blinked at her own reflection. Her brown hair hung in waves across her shoulders. Her makeup had been tastefully applied, making her blues eyes look even brighter. The velvet green cocktail dress hit just above her knees, and the sweetheart neckline was flattering to her figure. The waist was cinched, revealing how much weight she’d lost since the divorce, and the color itself complimented her eyes.
She looked like a different person. She looked beautiful.
“Wow.” She looked back at Rebecca and Kacey.
“Wow is right. You look stunning, Helen,” Kacey said.
She giggled. “I haven’t felt stunning in a while, if ever.”
Kacey snorted. “You have always been beautiful. You just needed to play up what the good Lord gave you.”
Helen turned back to the mirror. There was a honk outside. “Who could that be?”
Kacey grinned. “It’s your Uber driver. He’ll take you to the party and pick you up afterwards. So partake in all the champagne you want.”
Rebecca slipped a tube of red lipstick into a beaded handbag and held it out to Helen. “Have fun.”
Helen nodded, feeling both nervous and excited. Maybe a night out to celebrate the season was just what she needed.
Chapter 23
Helen blushed under Hannah’s compliments as she greeted her at the front door.
“I mean it, Helen. You look beautiful.” Hannah’s eyes twinkled as she spoke.
Helen straightened her shoulders. “Kacey and Rebecca did a wonderful job,” she admitted.
Hannah shook her head. “No. This is all you. They just accentuated your beauty.”
Carolina gasped from across the room and made a beeline in their direction.
“Helen, oh my gosh. You look … beautiful.” Carolina gave her a quick hug and beamed.
Helen glanced down at her dress. “I do feel a bit like Cinderella. Is that vain?”
